Name: Polenta Olive Oil Layer Cake with Fruit and Créme Fraîche Whipped Cream
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Ingredients: 1/2 cup (4 oz. / 1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for greasing pans; 3/4 cup (4.5 oz. / 128 g) medium-grain polenta/cornmeal; 1 cup (4.5 oz. / 128 g) all-purpose flour; 2 tsp. (10 g) baking powder; 1 tsp. (6 g) salt; 1/2 cup (4 oz. / 110 g) olive oil; 5 large eggs, room temperature; 2 large egg yolks, room temperature; 1 tsp. vanilla extract; 1 1/3 cups (9.3 oz. / 266 g) sugar; Fruit – enough to put between the layers and on top (I went a little overboard with the berries in the pictures above). For berries, 2 pints is sufficient. For citrus, I’d say 3-4 large fruits would be great. For stone fruit, probably 4-5.; 6 oz. heavy whipping cream; 4 oz. créme fraîche; Large pinches granulated or powdered sugar, or more to taste

Description

Créme fraîche adds an elevated quality to whipped cream in this stunning, but easy-to-assemble dessert.

Ingredients

Scale

1/2 cup (4 oz. / 1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for greasing pans
3/4 cup (4.5 oz. / 128 g) medium-grain polenta/cornmeal
1 cup (4.5 oz. / 128 g) all-purpose flour
2 tsp. (10 g) baking powder
1 tsp. (6 g) salt
1/2 cup (4 oz. / 110 g) olive oil
5 large eggs, room temperature
2 large egg yolks, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups (9.3 oz. / 266 g) sugar
Fruit – enough to put between the layers and on top (I went a little overboard with the berries in the pictures above). For berries, 2 pints is sufficient. For citrus, I’d say 3-4 large fruits would be great. For stone fruit, probably 4-5.

For the whipped cream:

6 oz. heavy whipping cream
4 oz. créme fraîche
Large pinches granulated or powdered sugar, or more to taste

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Instructions

Heat oven to 350F.
Prepare cake pans Smear extra room temperature butter over the inside of 2 cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a parchment round (You may be able to skip the parchment – I haven’t tried doing it without, but with a good smear of butter I think it would be okay. If you try this, let me know and I’ll update the recipe.)
Combine (most of the) dry ingredients In a small bowl, sift together the flour, polenta/cornmeal, baking powder, and salt.
Combine (most of the) wet ingredients In a separate small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, eggs and egg yolks, and vanilla.
Cream the butter and sugar Beat together the butter and sugar, using a stand mixer (3-5 mins) or handheld electric mixer (6-8 mins) on a medium-high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy.
Add wet ingredients Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and slowly add the egg mixture in 4-5 batches, mixing after each addition until completely incorporated.
Add dry ingredients Turn off the mixer and mix in the flour mixture by hand, stirring until just incorporated (don’t over mix!).
Bake Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pans and smooth the top. Bake until the top of the cake springs back when lightly pressed, or when a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs attached, about 20 minutes. Let cool for 30 minutes before inverting the cakes onto a cooling rack. (If using parchment, remove that from the bottom of each layer.)
Make whipped cream To make the whipped cream, beat the heavy cream and sugar together using a whisk, a stand mixer, or a handheld mixer, until stiff peaks form (taste at least once through the process to taste for sugar, adding more if desired). Mix in the creme fraîche using a rubber spatula or a large spoon.
Assemble Place one layer cake on your serving platter. Spread it with a little less than half of the whipped cream and one layer of fruit, pressing the fruit down slightly into the whipped cream so that the next layer will lay flat on top. Add the next layer and top with the rest of the cream and fruit. If you have extra fruit and it would look nice, display it around the edge of the cake.

Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 20 mins
Category: Dessert